Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 680 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,001,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $718,751,000 after buying an additional 459,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,625,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,329,000 after buying an additional 451,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,563,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 96.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 425,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,755,000 after buying an additional 208,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4,394.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 154,781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,885,000 after buying an additional 151,337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $197.71. The stock had a trading volume of 304,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,046. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.24 and a 12-month high of $201.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 3.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.36.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.13. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total value of $364,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.